Arlington Catholic beats Melrose for Div. 2 North crown

Published in the November 20, 2015 edition

A SINKING feeling for Melrose Lady Raider volleyball, who fell to a tough Arlington Catholic squad 3-1 on Saturday in the Div. 2 North finals at Tewksbury High. (Steve Karampalas photo) 

A SINKING feeling for Melrose Lady Raider volleyball, who fell to a tough Arlington Catholic squad 3-1 on Saturday in the Div. 2 North finals at Tewksbury High. (Steve Karampalas photo)

By JENNIFER GENTILE

MELROSE — For the 2015 Melrose High Lady Raider volleyball team, there’s always next year. The perennial Middlesex League champs were denied a Div. 2 North title on Saturday, Nov. 14 after falling to #7 seed Arlington Catholic, 3-1, in the Div. 2 North finals at Tewksbury High. Melrose (22-4, 16-0)) fell in sets of 25-18, 25-21, 15-25 and 25-20.

Though the Lady Raiders and the Cougars battled to several ties, maintaining momentum proved a challenge for Melrose, particularly fending off AC’s powerful hitter Demi Fogarty, who swatted a staggering 32 kills over the course of 4 sets.

“We had a lot of momentum particular in our serving and that gave us some nice runs,” said Melrose head coach Scott Celli after the game. “In particular, Lydia Lombardo was terrific. We lost momentum though by not being aggressive, passing the ball away, which gave Fogarty her hitting opportunities.”

Melrose had beaten Arlington Catholic earlier in the season when they swept the Cougars 3-0. This time the Cougars were ready for coach Celli’s squad and crafted the right plan of attack. Unfortunately, Melrose’s plan to limit Fogarty’s spiking opportunities hit a few bumps over the afternoon. In the opening set, Melrose fell to a 7-2 deficit after a successful service run from AC’s Monica Royo. Melrose made it a game, battling from 21-15 to 21-18 thanks to consecutive kills by Melrose’s Hannah Mulcahey. But after a time out AC ran to a 25-18 victory.

The Cougars took a lead of 5-0 in set two but Melrose sophomore Lydia Lombardo had a huge service run that gave Melrose a lead that was eventually extended to 20-16. But a strong service run from AC helped the Cougars steal the game with a 23-20 lead and eventual 25-21 set victory.

With Melrose down 0-2, the Lady Raiders had no intention of giving up. They fought back hard in a victorious third set thanks to the work of Hannah Mulcahey (13 kills) and senior captain Marissa Cataldo (11 kills). Melrose clung to a 15-14 lead but commanded in the stretch for a 25-15 victory thanks to the work of Victoria Crovo, Meagan Leyne and Mulcahey. Over the afternoon, sophomore setter Lily Fitzgerald had 28 assists, and on the other side of the net AC’s Julia Dolan had 50 assists.

Melrose was on the verge of a comeback with a 16-12 lead in set 4 but passed the ball over a few too many times, setting up the lights-out Fogarty, along with a very strong Monica Royo (11 kills) and freshman Mariana Ball (19 kills). In set four, Fogarty launched a series of kills to tie it up at 16-16 which forced a Melrose timeout. Both teams would tie four more times, including a 20-20 draw but Fogarty and Royo went on a brutal run and ended the Lady Raiders dreams of another state title with a 25-20 set win.

After the game Melrose Scott Celli noted the difficult job the team had stopping Fogarty. “She was tough. We wanted to limit how many times she got the ball but I think she had about 32 kills on 67 attempts and that is just unheard of in high school volleyball.”

Despite the Sectional title loss, Melrose has plenty to crow about. Senior captain Marissa Cataldo has been named to the MVCA Div. 2 All-State team and five Lady Raiders were named Middlesex League All-Stars. They include: senior captain Cataldo, Hannah Mulcahey, junior captain Victoria Crovo, junior Kaitlyn MacInnes and sophomore Lily Fitzgerald.

Beating Danvers resulted in Sectional final

Getting to the Div. 2 North final required beating #9 seed Danvers on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at home at the Melrose Middle School gym. They did so handily with a 3-0 win over the visiting Falcons during the Division 2 North Semifinals in sets of 25-14, 25-14 and 25-15.

It was a standing room only crowd that greeted the team while playing their last home game of the season. Melrose enjoyed some heavy offense behind the efforts of  junior Victoria Crovo who led in Melrose kills with 11 kills. Senior Hannah Mulcahey had eight kills, while senior co-captain Marissa Cataldo chipped in with six. Sophomore setter Lily Fitzgerald tallied 20 assists.

“That was probably the most complete effort we’ve had in a long time offensively,” said Melrose Coach Scott Celli. “Defensively it might have been the best we played all year The balls that everyone thought were going out we were making plays on and ended up winning points. That goes a long way for us.”

Danvers is a new program, in its third year of existence, who were enjoying their first playoff appearance. After the game Danvers coach George LeCasseur acknowledged the formidable opponent in Melrose. “Melrose is a seasoned team and a seasoned program. It was a great match. They had us defensively, that’s what it boiled down to. We couldn’t put the ball away.”

Junior Kaitlyn MacInnes had her best performance of the season in libero duty, stunning fans with acrobatic saves from various corners of the floor. MacInnes spoke after the game about the team’s commanding performance. “It feels amazing,” she said. “I feel like the effort from everyone on the team was there. It was really great to see everyone improve as the game went on.”

According to Celli, MacInnes has come into her own this season. “Kaitlyn’s our anchor on defense,” he said. “She has to play like that. That’s the role that she’s in. She wears a white jersey for a reason. She played a great game for us.”

Future for team looks bright

Melrose has three graduating seniors this year (Hannah Mulcahey, Marissa Cataldo and Meagan Leyne) who happen to be some of team’s top hitters, so their presence will be missed on offense. This was something that Celli noted after the game.

Of Cataldo, he credits the senior captain’s overall game. “Marissa’s all around play was great and often flawless. We will definitely miss her leadership on and off the court.”

Megan Leyne returned from injury to start for the team and he gave the senior credit for her perseverance. “She was one of our most consistent players, particularly Saturday coming off an injury.”

And Melrose will indeed miss the wattage of Hannah Mulcahey. “We certainly will miss her power. She had some great games in the final stretch. She is just a player who knows how to rise to the occasion in tough games.”

A positive for Melrose – they return not only their leading hitter in junior captain Victoria Crovo but two solid positional players in libero Kaitlyn MacInnes and setter Lily Fitzgerald, who took new roles this season and transformed into some of the division’s best competitors. A majority of Melrose’s defense also returns. That leaves a few spots open for hitting. “We’re going to work in the off season and develop some hitters to help Victoria up front next season,” says Celli.

It’s safe to say that Melrose volleyball, winners of the Middlesex League for 13 straight years, has a future that is bright.